Gut bacteria increases rheumatoid arthritis risk

Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers found that having too much of a certain kind of gut bacteria could increase the risk of getting rheumatoid arthritis.

The studies were done on mice engineered to have a gene that predisposes to rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers also found that female mice had a tripled risk of developing an autoimmune disease compared with male mice, which is like how women are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than men.

Similar findings have been seen with periodontal disease and bacteria responsible for periodontal infections.

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